Adam Saad is a Blue. Carlton, after 36 days of haggling since the defender requested a trade, got the deal done for pick eight and a swap of various steak-knife selections.
He joins Zac Williams, who signed as a free agent, and Lachie Fogarty, who Carlton has also locked in.
But what does it mean for the Blues in 2021?
The flow-on affect of Saad entering Carlton’s backline is that they finally have a small defender capable of locking down the opposition’s best forward. Arguably for the first time since Zach Tuohy departed for Geelong.
Contrary to media scuttlebutt, Saad, according to his manager John Meesen on AFL Trade Radio, is happy to play a lockdown defensive role for the Blues when required on top of his outstanding rebounding game.
“There were some reports that he didn’t want to play lockdown and he didn’t want to play certain roles for the team – that just couldn’t be further from the truth,” Meesen told AFL Trade Exchange.
“He understands that he’ll play lockdown when need be, he might get sat on sometimes and that means (Sam) Docherty gets off the leash and vice versa.”
Lachie Plowman has battled admirably against small forwards for a couple of years now and while he has ticked that box, it is not what Carlton originally wanted to use him for.
Saad has the pace to go with the likes of Jaidyn Stephenson, Charlie Cameron, Liam Ryan and others who Plowman has struggled with at times.
This positional shuffle allows Plowman to essentially replace Kade Simpson’s floating role in defence.
Carlton captain Sam Docherty will also breathe easier with Saad in the team, as he felt the brunt of opposition tagging efforts most weeks.
Teams will likely now have to decide who they lock down on as Saad’s run and carry will need to be accounted for.
With everyone fit and healthy, the Blues will have Saad, Docherty and Tom Williamson as small rebounding defenders, while Jacob Weitering, Liam Jones and Lachie Plowman fill more defensive roles.
The Blues will also have Caleb Marchbank and Nic Newman returning from years lost to injury and they will cause some selection headaches, while Williams may also float into defence at times.
This depth also allows Carlton to move Sam Petrevski-Seton back into the midfield after a year spent developing as a small defender.
While they persisted with the move, Petrevski-Seton, who flashed brilliance as an inside midfielder in 2019, struggled in defence for the most part and conceded more goals than any other Blue for stretches of the season.
How Carlton utilises the former top five draftee in 2021 will be fascinating given the additions of Saad and Williams.
On top of everything, what Saad and Williams give Carlton is a greater ability to transition the ball from one end to the other.
The Blues want to play a forward half game, locking the ball in their territory with forward pressure and clearance control.
However, that broke down at times this year whenever teams gave Carlton a taste of their own medicine.
They struggled to transition the ball from the back half effectively and often found themselves stuck kicking slow and down the line.
Players like Saad and Williams will allow them to break lines, gain territory and shift the ball into their half.
Midfield spots will be tough to come by, with Williams expected to play primarily on-ball and through the wings.
Sam Walsh finished 2020 playing through the middle alongside Patrick Cripps and Ed Curnow, who have been at the vast majority of Carlton’s centre bounces since David Teague took the coaching reins.
Williams’ inclusion changes the dynamic, giving them outside run and carry and likely pushes Curnow to the wing as a secondary on-ball rotation.
Carlton spent most of 2020 fiddling with their third on-ball spot, with Will Setterfield ultimately filling the role until Walsh was shuffled in late in the year.
The likes of Jack Martin, Marc Murphy, David Cuningham and Matthew Kennedy were also rotated through at various stages.
The rotation the Blues settle on in 2021 with Williams now in the mix and how they settle other players across the half forward line and wings will be something to watch.
And this doesn’t even include first round draft picks Paddy Dow, Lochie O’Brien, Liam Stocker, Brodie Kemp and Sam Philp. Carlton will be hoping some or all of that group begin to break into their best 22.
Teague and his coaching staff will have a lot to work out between now and Round 1 – good problems to have.